1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor module.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a power semiconductor module, an insulating substrate, a semiconductor chip, and the like are mounted on a metal base plate by solder joint. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-031358 and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 01-281760 propose techniques of providing, in a semiconductor module in which an insulating substrate having a circuit layout formed using copper foil is mounted on a metal base plate, convex and concave portions at predetermined positions on the metal base plate for positioning of the insulating substrate.
In the semiconductor modules proposed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-031358 and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 01-281760, it is necessary to perform additional processing on the base plate to provide the convex and concave portions in the base plate, which increases man-hours and reduces manufacturing efficiency. Further, in a case where the convex and concave portions are provided using a mold or the like, it is also necessary to change the design of the mold itself when the locations for forming the convex and concave portions and the number of the convex and concave portions are changed, and thus it is difficult to use the mold for the production of a wide variety of products in small quantities.